Shoe-tree



PATENTBD FEB. 16, 1904.

- M. W. OBRIBN.

SHOE TREE/.

.APPLIUATAION FILED DEU. 20. 1902. lli() MODEL,

UNITED i STATES i Patented February'l, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

- MILES OBRIEN, OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS.

sHQE-TREE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,409, dated February 16, 1904.

.Application filed December 20, 1902. Serial No. 135,973. (No model.)

Be it known that I, MILES W. OBRiEN, a'

y citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa', county of Lasalle, and State of Illinois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvevments in Shoe-Trees, of which I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact descripv tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication. A

The present invention has for its object to l 4provide a simple, durable, cheap, and effect- The invention consists in the features of,

` lnovelty hereinafter described, illustratedl in for use. ing the parts in folded position.

the accompanying drawings, and particularly Adelned in the claims at the end of this speciication. f

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the shoe-tree embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view in central vertical longitudinal section through the tree with the parts in position Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view show- Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section on 4line 44 of Fig. 3.

In the preferred form of the invention the toc portion A of my improved shoe-tree is formedV from sheet metal, the lower edges of .the metalbeing turned inwardly, as at a. By this construction a toe portion of the desired strength is obtained, and this portion being hollow permits a free circulation `of air to all parts of the shoe, thus prolonging the life of the leather. The flange e around the edge of the toe portion A serves to give great strength to such part, and thus preserve its shape,while permitting it to be made very light. To the under side of the toe portion A at its rear is pivotally connected a link or lever B, the outer end of which link or lever carries a swivelnut C, through which passes an adjustingscrew D, having a heel-form E, preferably of semiglobular shape. As shown, the forward end ofv the link or leverA B is pivotally connected by a pin a to the arms of the bracket n2, that is riveted to the under side of the toe portion A, and preferably the end` of the link or i lever B has upwardly-turned arms through lwhich the pivot-pin a' passes.

As shown also, the opposite or rear end of the `link or lever B has upturned arms b2, through which passes a pin 3, that passesv through the swivel-nut C. As shown, the link or lever B is of concavoconvex form, as by this means the link erlever is greatly strengthened without increasing its weight.

rlhe heel-form E is formed with a central hole to receive the reduced end 'of the screw D, and preferably that portion of the heelform E adjacent the central hole is depressed or countersunk, as shown at @,so that the end of the screw will not contact with the heel of the shoe. The' heel-form Eis held in position upon the shoulder d of the screw, while the upset or riveted reduced end al of the screw retains the heel-form against displacement, while permitting the screw to revolve freely with respect to the heel-form E. The free end of the screw D is furnished with a thumbnut yor wheel D', whereby the screw may be turned inI order to effect the desired adjust- .ment of the parts.

By reference more'particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings it will loe seen that in using my improved shoe-tree the toe portion A will be inserted beneath the'vamp of the shoe with the link B and the screw D extending upwardly from the horizontal, while the heelform E rests against the heel portion of the shoe. By depressing the screw and link from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 2 the toe portion A is thrust outwardly into the toe of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 2, the thrust being then in the line of t-he link and screw and serving to retain these parts in position. By adjusting the screw D, which may be done after the tree is in theshoe, as shown, the snug fitting of the toe portion of the tree into the correspondingpart of the shoe may be secured, the leather being stretched, so

as to remove wrinkles therefrom and maintain the natural shape of the shoe. It will be observed that the link B and the screw D form a simple adjustable toggle intermediate and connectingthe heel and toe portions of the tree, so that the latter may be easily and quickly forced apart'with considerable pres- IOO sure to snugly fit within the shoe by simply pushing the members of the toggle into line with each other and also so that thetree may be quickly removed from the shoe by simply breaking the toggle-joint.

By reference more particularly to Fig. 3 of thedrawings it will be seen that when the parts are to be packed for transportation the link or lever B, and with it the adjustingscrew D, will be folded into the hollow portion of the toe portion A, so as to occupy very little space. One marked advantage of my improved shoe-tree is that although it is of great strength and will stand severe usage still it is exceedingly light and can be folded into most compact form for shipment. It will be seen that as inasmuch as the forward end of the adjusting-screw D extends in front of the swivel-nut C when the link B is turned to approximately horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 2, the bearing of the thumb-nut D'- against the link will limit the extent of downward movementof the link, and thus serve t0 hold it practically upon the dead-center.

It is manifest that the precise details of construction above set out may be varied without departure from the spirit of the invention, and features of the invention may be employed without its adoption as an entirety.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. A shoe-tree consisting of a toe portion, a heel-block and an intermediate adjustable toggle connected thereto lfor spreading said parts comprising a link forming one member of said toggle, a nut swiveled to said link and a screw forming the other member of said toggle threaded through said nut. j

2. A shoe-tree consisting of a toe portion,` a

` heel-block and an intermediate adjustable toggle connected thereto for spreading said parts comprising a link forming one member of said toggle and an adjusting-screw and nut therefor forming the other member of said toggle pivotally connected to said link, one of said toggle members having an extended end portion adapted to engage the other and thereby limit the extent of depression of said members,

3. A shoe-tree consisting of a toe portion, a

heel-block and an intermediate adjustable toggle connected thereto for spreading said parts comprising a link forming one member of the toggle and an adjusting-screw and nut therefor forming the other member thereof and having a single pivotal point of connection withsaid link, said toggle members being adaptedto be extended substantially in line and hold the toe portion and heel-block snugly in position within the shoe.

4. A shoe-tree comprising a toe portion, a link pivoted thereto at one end and provided at its opposite end with a swivel-nut and an adjusting-screw passing through said swivelnut and provided with a heel form or part adapted to bear against the heel of the shoe.

5. A shoe-tree comprising a toe portion formed of a curved metal plate, a link pivoted to the under side of said plate and provided at its opposite end with a swivel-nut, an adjusting-screw passing through said swivel-nut and provided at onev end with a heel-form and at its opposite end with a thumb-nut or wheel whereby the screw may be turned.

6. A shoe-tree comprising a toe portion, a link pivoted thereto and extending rearwardly therefrom, an adjusting-screw pivotally connected with the rear end of said link and having a part extending forwardly of its pivotal connection with said link, said part being adapted to limit the movement of the link after it has passed below a horizontal line, and a heel-form swiveled to the rear end of said screw whereby when the parts are in position for use the forward end of said screw will limit the-depression of the link and whereby the screw may be turned without revolving the heel-form.

7. In a shoe-tree, the combination with a toe portion, of a link pivotally connected to said toe portion, said link being formed of a transversely-curved metal plate, an adjustingscrew provided with a swivel-nut that-is pivotally connected to said link and a heel-form connected to the outer end of said adjustingscrew.

' MILES W. OBRIEN.

Witnesses:

E. A. FULLER, ANDREW J. OCONOR. 

